Great Advice from Musicians for Musicians

Larry Willis a great pianist told me once if you take care of the music it will take care of you and if you true to it you're gonna get you what you need you just have to put all it you can't just put a little bit you got to put it all in there but for young guys coming up today I would say yeah you know there's room for you but you got to make sure you know your instrument very very well know your music very well study the history of the music very well and get bits and pieces from some of your heroes because that's what I did I learned that I got some of the Cal Tjader style of music in my music I got some I got some of Mungo Santa Maria styling up of the way he played the congas so I took from Rey barreto's bad different ideas that influences that I loved that's what I did and you can do it but you gotta gather from different bits and pieces from different areas and then try to come up with your own concept you don't sound your own style I I myself personally just hope that some of these young musicians just don't get to water down or to commercialise where they just want to start making money and find a little gimmick because that's not where it's at it's it's in your heart and you want to play from your soul from your heart and you want to know your instrument very well I had to play this music when people didn't want me to produce music I played this music and try to contribute to this music playing clubs where the clubs almost made me pay down the play you know and I but I felt this so that's strong for this music and I arm and I fought for this music and I and I'm fighting it's not because I need to make money because I haven't even made it die but it's because of the love of this artform and and and its gift that you know giving give of play music after we need I need to honor that you know so that's what I want people to understand I didn't have a million dollars throwing that need from the beginning and as a matter of fact for those that did have a million dollars thrown at them I wonder what would have happened if they did would they still be playing music and I did I stuck with it I stuck with this music we have just have to be thoughtful as as as musicians as a community we have to go and look because it's there the DNA that creates Sarah Vaughn and Dinah Washington and Etta Jones and a you know and eBay and Leon Thomas the the DNA that exists for that is still there just has to be cultivated I think one of the things is that jazz right now current current jazz are a lot of young players the music is very intellectual you know it it appeals to the brain you know you know I think it has to appeal to this as well maybe even more so you know so so at times it seems like there's kind of an emotional disconnect you know I listen to the music and I can appreciate it for for for the intellectual content but sometimes it can lead to cold you know wow that's really hip but I can't remember any of it you know the solo you know I can't remember I can only I'd I'd know like when miles came out in 1957 nothing's with the round midnight I knew everybody solo and I wasn't unique because I mean the average citizen you know average jazz man because saying everybody solos that was just part of Huntington listen to the music part of how you learn about music but that's not so today you know it's it's about scales and this and that playing and odd meters and there's nothing wrong with that but there's there's like no emotional content or at least nowhere near as much as they used to be you know so it's not really music from the heart it's music from the head you know that's that's my feeling the main thing I tell young musicians is don't lie to yourself don't ever lie to yourself you know when you're not practicing you know when you're not doing what it is you need to do all of that stuff shows up in your playing you know I tell them I tell my students all the time it's okay if you don't practice you don't have to practice but rest assured that there's somebody your age someplace around the planet practicing and if you're lucky you're going to run into it and when you run into them don't be angry don't be jealous you know because all you have to do is just stay on your game you know it's a daily thing we're not asking you to try to accomplish it all in one day a one-week of one month it's a lifelong process so the main thing is don't lie to yourself work hard every day and make sure that you're always trying to just chip away at something that you're trying to develop and keep your mind open and clear open to new things don't become set in your ways there's no one way to do this i look at her be Hancock Wayne Shorter James Moody we just lost some other great musicians they were in their 70s in their 80s still talking about discovering new things and playing music and that's the way that I've been living my life and that's the way I'm going to continue to live my life there's no end to this you know it's constant existence of exploration you

Channel: irockjazzmusictv

Views: 203,456

Rating: 4.9699388 out of 5

Keywords: Roy Hargrove, Terence Blanchard, Poncho Sanchez, Wallace Roney, Gregory Porter, Kenny Barron, Musician (Occupation)

Id: 6UqCb-_oqZY

Length: 6min 39sec (399 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 08 2013

Reddit Comments

[u/pauldeedon]

Hell yeah the last dude pretty much sums it up.